International intelligence shows a massive increase in Asian betting on Australian sporting events, with up to $40 million held offshore on one A-League game. Asian syndicates, both legal and illegal, are estimated to turn over about $2 billion a month.

Earlier this week European police said up to 700 soccer games were suspected of being fixed by a syndicate based in Singapore.

In a bid to protect itself from infiltration, the AFL is briefing all players on the dangers of associating with criminals and the risks of being groomed by illegal betting cartels.

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said the risk of sports corruption ''is a massive concern to us'' and the integrity unit, set up in 2008, would be expanded this year.

''We are quite well placed, but we know we have more to do,'' he said.

He said the league would employ more investigators and invest in technology to check suspect players' deleted texts and tweets - a method used successfully in US baseball.

The Australian Crime Commission is also concerned over drug traffickers moving into the sport and bodybuilding market.

''There is widespread use of performance and image-enhancing drugs,'' it reported last year. ''The primary driver of this market in Australia is high demand as a consequence of the large potential user base, the variety of uses, ease of availability and potential profitability when on-sold.''

"It can begin with one small incident - cocaine at a party or a prostitute - and then they are on the hook. It follows an established pattern: attract, compromise and then infiltrate. I would be surprised if it was not already happening here. Sport fixing will be a huge risk for players here. Drop a mark, bowl a no-ball, miss a shot – that is a real risk."

But police cannot warn sports of the activities of at-risk players because the information is usually gathered through confidential phone taps.

The AFL has joined racing integrity commissioner Sal Perna in asking the state government to redraft legislation to enable police to share intelligence.

"We have written to the government explaining the need for us to have this information to protect the integrity of the code," Mr Demetriou said. ‘‘We understand the privacy issues but we need to be able to protect the sport from corruption."

Mr Ashton said: "We absolutely support the Perna recommendations to share information, but only with codes that have appropriate integrity units. The AFL and racing are good, tennis has taken considerable steps forward and then it falls away.

"We have been in conversation with the government ... and they have been quite supportive." He said many sports, including soccer, were not prepared for the growing threat. ‘‘The betting syndicates are outstripping the sports regulators."

Police are concerned that clubs and codes could be compromised by accepting sponsorship from corrupt sources. "They need to develop some fit and proper standards for sponsors and associates to protect integrity."

It is understood some AFL players have been picked up on phone taps purchasing narcotics and talking of their drug use. They have not been targeted because the police investigations have centred on high-end traffickers rather than users.

Now police say the tapes could be used in any subsequent match-fixing investigations.

And the state government will introduce match-fixing legislation later this year with a likely maximum penalty of 10 years' jail with a two-year term for providing inside information.

Police are also concerned that international players imported to play in local tournaments may already have relationships with illegal bookmakers.

"Big Bash [Twenty20 cricket] is an area of concern," Mr Ashton said. "It is drawing a lot of interest in betting from overseas. There are big dollars. It is seen by some as hit and giggle and there are overseas players whose background is unknown."

The AFL is visiting each club with an education package, including scenarios on how players can be manipulated.